Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

I have read other reviewer's withering reports with astonishment, is this the same restaurant that I went to and had a rather splendid lunch, served by smiley, approachable, but totally professional staff?! I really couldn't fault anything, we liked the aubergine decor, the food, especially the fish and chip amuse bouche, and we left feeling very full but delighted and wishing to return as soon as possible. Stand out dishes for us was the amazing suckling pig, we were worried it would arrive looking well, like a little pig on plate, complete with snout and curly tail, but we were assured that wouldn't be the case, and it was absolutely out of this world, incredible flavour, and the crackling....! And the custard tart with pepper ice cream was also a corker, I couldn't imagine what pepper ice cream would be like, and if indeed I would like it, but it was actually very good. I also tried smoked bone marrow for the first time, with fillet of beef, which was okay, although my other half really liked it, I don't know if I would specifically order it again. Another unusual flavour for me, was the rosemary chocolate truffle from the famous bon bon trolley, again I don't know if I would have that flavour again, but it was interesting! The cheese trolley was a big hit with us as well - no wonder we left feeling so full, but the selection was so superlative, we simply couldn't resist. Wonderful.
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Christina Caballero
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 07, 2011

We flew in from New York to test Mr. Wareings praised cooking.

The short of it is: nice food in an unbearably pretentious setting. From our perspective, there are many wonderful restaurants. But we don't see the point in spending GBP500, almost USD800 for two (!) people to eat a delicious meal, if we are force-fed perhaps the snootiest, most unfriendly and downright ridiculous attitude we have encountered in a while. It was a charicature of a dining experience, topped only by the brainless and food-unrelated spending around us.

Let me walk you through the evening.

Waiter #1: Ello. Would you like some champage? No? (Turns away and walks off in a huff. Returns minutes later with the same question).

Waiter #2: Ello. Which of our marvelous wines would you like? (The list boasts an underwhelming selection of uniformly overpriced prestige wines. We order two bottles).

Waiter #3. Ello. Which aperitif would you like? (We ordered two). Oh, that is in fact a good choice, I loike that (huffs off. returns.). Waiter #3: What kind of water would you like? Us: which ones do you have? Waiter #3: still and sparkling. Us: cool, which brands? Waiter #3: I don't understand the question. (Huffs off. Returns). Us: well, which brands do you offer? Like, Pelligrino, Evian? Waiter #3: (huffs off, returns) names one brand. We order it.

Waiter #4. Oi. Which menu would you like? The two menus, prestige and gourmand, are both similar. So we asked where the differences are. Waiter huffs off.

Waiter #5 (mind you, these are all different waiters!). So have you decided which menu? We ask again how many courses there are. We receive a mathematically impossible answer. We point out that we would like to understand the difference, please. Waiter #5: I recommed you both take the gourmand (the more expensive one).

Waiter #6. Are you enjoying the evening? (Turns away. Looks back over his shoulder). Yeah? (speaks to the other table. turns back.) Where are you from? We respond. His response: Oi, that's not bad. (huffs off).

At this point the food is trying to make up for the abuse. It almost did, nice touches here and there, but frankly not two Michelin stars, at best one, and all in all a dining experience we wish we had not had.
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Kevin Keykat
2 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, September 12, 2011

I have eaten here 4 times now and I have to say that sadly this will be the last. The food is nowhere near as good as it use to be. I was a big fan of Marcus but I guess he is not cooking here anymore.
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alan - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Saturday, May 21, 2011

We have eaten here before and I am sad to say that it was nowhere near as good. The portions were tiny and I know that Marcus is known for that! But what we did not like was how the food seems to have gone off in a different direction mixing all kinds of flavours together that just don't work! The service has also gone down hill. Sorry but If I am spending this kind of money it needs to be mind blowing and it was far away.
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stella - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Wow. Took my fiance for his birthday on Saturday and treated him to the Prestige tasting menu, with wines chosen for each course.

I've had the pleasure of eating at many Michelin starred restaurants (thanks Mum & Dad!), but this topped them all.

Incredible food, beatiful wine selection, friendly and attentive staff - just make sure you leave room for the petit fours!

Pricey? Well yes, but it's not the kind of place you are going to eat at once per week, so therefore I'd say worth every penny.
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Mary
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 03, 2011

I booked the chef's table here for my birthday dinner last night. We had a 9 course tasting menu and accompanying wines and the whole evening was faultless. The food was outstanding and they catered easily for the fact that one of the party wouldn't eat meat and another didn't eat fish.

Particular highlights were the fish veloute with salt and vinegar chip foam and mushy pea sticks, Monkfish cheeks with snails and herb gnocchi, Veal tongue with beetroot, horse radish and foraged herbs and a pre-dessert of caramelised white chocolate mouse.

I was particularly impressed with the wine selection as I had specified a relatively modest budget for wines. The sommelier did a brilliant job and served wines from France, Germany, Australia and (rather unexpectedly) Greece which were all lovely in their own right.

I would absolutely recommend this for a special occasion - every one of my party of 8 had nothing but praise for the evening.
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NJD - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 15, 2011

We went to Marcus Wareing's recently on a Monday evening for my partner's birthday, as I'd read about him and knew he was a Lancashire lad (my partner is a Lancashire lass.....). We chose the Prestige tasting menu and our own wine instead of the selection. In summary, the food was very good, the service and value less so. We'd been away at Whatley Manor in the west country for the weekend, and both noticed the difference in general demeanour of the staff at Marcus Wareing's. Nobody was smiling, and a general air of distance and aloofness prevailed. This seems to be the norm rather than the exception with fine dining in London, and is disappointing to observe. By contrast, our weekend away was enhanced by relaxed, friendly, attentive yet discrete staff, and the overall dining experience was better, with comparable food at considerably improved value. We both reflected that fine dining in the country is a more pleasurable experience for us than in London. Perhaps this is the city vibe - look busy, professional, superior, don't stop to talk (and I'm from London......). Ah well.....

To end on a positive note - I liked the decor, and lighting was good (low and subtle). The cheese waitress, from appearing the most aloof of all at the start, turned out to be the most friendly, and knowledgeable (she chooses the cheese for the restaurant).

Would I go back? I don't think so. It was worth trying once, but cheaper and more cheerful restaurants are simply more fun.
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Mervyn
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Thursday, December 09, 2010

Myself and partner went to MW on the 18th October, due too our jobs we go to a lot of Michelin Star restaurants, in fact we have been to every three star in the country and now every two star and therefore I feel (rightly or wrongly) that I have a good base for comparison. Also being younger than most of the guests (it was my partners 31st birthday and I am 29) it is interesting too see how the service alters, as we both generally get better service when we are eating with our parents!

It was a Monday at 8pm and the dinning room was not full, which I found quite surprising, you could of easily got a table just by walking in. Mr Wareing was not there himself but as requested he had been kind enough to sign a copy of his new book which was left under the table for my girlfriend to find as an added surprise.

I have always thought that restaurants in hotels do have an uphill task with creating an atmosphere, MW is no different, the room is dimly lit with a generally hush tone. Similar (dare i say it) to the London in New York. The atmosphere in Theo Randall at the Intercontinental or even the rib room in the Jumeirah are better in my opinion.

Back to the more important part of the meal, the food and service:

We both decided on the Gourmand tasting menu with the sommelier selection of wine, which gave us the best opportunity to experience the skill of the chief, they do have a more modest tasting menu (the prestige menu) and a more extravagant wine selection (known as the fine wine selection) for those interested.

The food in general was of the highest quality and the wines were very well matched. I expected faultless food and in all apart from one dish this was achieved. The only dish I found lacking was part of the on the pre-desert, their take on a mojito cocktail seemed very sharp to me with no sweetness ( a mojito being a balance of rum, mint, soda water and sugar!) i did mention this to the waiter when asked but she completely ignored me, simply telling me that is what they are suppose to taste like, which i found rude, unnecessary and clearly incorrect. Also if she did think i was a raging loon, a simple smile and maybe an offer to replace it would have been better. As I have always been told that modesty will always perform better than arrogance when dealing with customers, something the staff could learn here.

(I would like to add the the cheese waiter was very good, clearly the best server in the restaurant )

On to the cognac and tea, fresh mint tea for my girlfriend, cognac for me, I asked for a hennessy paradis, which they said they didnt have, I was offered two alternatives to try, which were nice but not the same, oddly they did actually have the one I was after on a very well stocked trolley, it was at the top directly in front of server, sounds strange to me but you would think they would know what they stock! I'm assuming that you think this is me being a little pedantic, but I do expect excellence and if they want the third star surely so should they?

The chocolates that came with were amazing, best i've had with the peanut butter and the banoffe being my preferred picks.

Asking for the bill was surprisingly difficult, after asking three separate waiters (they do not seem to have a waiter for your table, more zonal marking than man for man!) and after waiting far longer than i would expect it was incorrect, I had been charged for three tasting menus, odd for a table of two, therefore i had the task of finding another waiter to whom i highlighted this and then he came back, again sometime after, with the correct bill, so i decided to ask for the service to be taken off, which they did. Bringing the bill to £559 for two. Oddly, the Maître d' never came over to ask why I was unhappy with the service, in fact I would have been hard pushed to point out who was in charge of the dinning room. Maybe they have no interest in finding out why their customers are unhappy? perhaps it was now close to closing time and they wanted to go home? or maybe I had spent enough money so they didn't care? I guess i'll never know.

So in summary: In general excellent food, service far below the standard I would expect and not exactly what you would call value for money. Will I be going there again for dinner or recommend it when they are as equally good french style restaurants that make you feel more welcome? Unfortunately the answer has to be non and that is simply to do with the atmosphere and service, unless they make this better I strongly ever doubt they will get three stars, in fact I would be shocked if they keep two especially when you compare it to Le Gavroche or Pied a Terre.
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Steven Mayne
7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Simply incredible. Yes, you pay a premium price, but it is so worth it. Quite what was the best part of this meal is hard to say... where do I begin?

Amuse bouche - "BLT" - consisting of lettuce soup, bacon foam and sundried tomato grissini. Starter - langoustines and blueberry infused with the scent of pine needles. Main - lamb served rare, with grilled peaches and freshly enhanced by a black olive and mint yoghurt, sitting on a bed of gem lettuce. Pre-dessert - a mini mojito... Mint snow, cucumber jelly on a white and dark rum panacotta bed. Dessert - tarte tatin, served on a trolley at the table, complete with vanilla ice-cream and clotted cream scoops on a separate saucer. Petit fours - an entire trolley dedicated to them. Banoffee, salted caramel, raspberry and white pepper, turkish delight, praline - the variety was wonderful.

So from a food perspective, pretty good. Meeting Marcus Wareing himself was a real treat - such a decent man, so much time for his customers and appreciation that they're happy - and the fact he chose the tarte tatin especially for us and signed a menu of his own accord to make my fiancee's birthday experience even better, really was the candle on the cake - never mind the icing!

Thank you to Marcus and his team of professionals for making this a night to remember. Would highly recommend this to anyone that wants to really

treat their other half. My advice - go there for romance, not business meetings. You can have the latter at numerous smart restaurants, but when it comes to romance, Marcus Wareing iat the Berkeley is one of those few places that really excel.
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Dom - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, July 22, 2010

Eek. Where to start. Possibly the best meal of my life? Of all the 2- and 3- Michelin star places I've been to, the food at MW was undoubtedly the best.

The four of us had the 'prestige' 7 course tasting menu with matching wines. There always seems to be one or two courses that disappoint me when a chef is trying this hard, but not on Monday night. You could taste each key ingredient, and everything on the plate worked in perfect harmony. At the same time flashy and subtle, even funny sometimes. Amuse bouche was a shot of cauliflower soup with cheddar cheese foam and parmesan breadsticks. I love playing the reconstructed game when it comes together so nicely. Quail was served with toast foam and a white bean sauce. Putting aside the baffling achievement of toast foam which was strangely moreish, you do have to ask yourself: beans on toast?? Seriously?! It was one of my favourite courses. The scallop came in a red wine sauce but the sommelier poured a white. I thought to question it, but then the Chassagne-Montrachet hit my lips, and I figured I'd drink it on it's own if need be. Don't question a team in its prime; it worked very well, thank you muchly. I'd hesitate to pick out more 'highlights' because the food and wine was strong from start to finish, but I did find the Californian Zinfandel elevated my grilled beef to something extra special. Oooh, and the espresso arctic roll was pretty amazing..........

If anything keeps Marcus from getting his third star, it's the service. The one -- and only -- element that was lacking was the ability of the servers to anticipate your needs. Inspectors don't like that, and it's one of the things that Gordo seems to get right (much more often than the food, actually). It was comparatively difficult to order more water halfway through the meal. That's my only negative point. The rest of the time they were great. They would wait for a break in conversation before describing the next course; the sommelier would give interesting information about the next wine; they had no problems substituting the starter for two of us and also changed the wines for that course. They do have the set-pieces down.

The night wasn't cheap, but well worth the money. Only the drinks in Blue Bar (which was horrible anyway) and the bottled water seemed overpriced. The cheese course was generous, as was the bonbon trolley. Even the digestifs weren't bad compared to somewhere like Gavroche. And as I said, the food was spectacular.

Thank you for an amazing evening, and good luck on that third star, Marcus.
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Dan
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, May 27, 2010